Nurses in the country are people with a very noble profession that also requires a lot of effort. They need to have the necessary qualities to be good nurses, such as compassion, patience, communication skills, and other different skills depending on their workplace or specialty. There is the possibility that the work they do will always be well rewarded and that they will have more economic opportunities and more choices in the scenarios in which they wish to work. This can happen through supplementing their work by taking hours as PRN nurses (pro re nata shifts) or as local travel nurses.
What are Local Travel Nursing Jobs?
Travel nursing is a term that has been around for several decades now, where hospitals that have a significant requirement for nurses due to some situation (maybe they have few employees, many employees on leave, or the recent pandemic that reduced the overall number of staff in hospitals); regardless of the reason, they are looking for travel nurses to cover shifts for a set amount of time. When nurses choose to cover these shifts, they commit to being at that hospital as travel nurses, working as needed and as their possibilities allow. They are called local travel nurses when they work as nurses but in the same state or city.
It is possible to do the work of local travel nurses and still get some benefits such as travel stipends or airfare. The advantage is that the pay is higher, and it is at a hospital where nurses choose to work. The job is guaranteed for a long time, and it is a great experience to get to know other work environments and refresh all their nursing knowledge.
One of the most common questions when talking about local travel nursing is whether it is possible to take jobs as a local travel nurse close to home, and the answer is yes, it is possible and highly recommended so that nurses do not have to move too far away from home and family.
Local travel nurses are employees of the hospital institution where they choose to work, with benefits, stipends (if offered), and contracts that spell out these benefits. According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, nurses who work as local travel nurses earn $3,167 per week on average and can earn more than double this amount depending on the state they are in the hours they work, or the institution they choose to work for. Of course, when registered nurses decide to have a specialty, they will earn more and have more opportunities for employment as local travel nurses, as specialized work is always more in demand.
Advantages of PRN Nursing Jobs
One of the most significant sacrifices contracted nurses have to make is having to work the shifts they are assigned, with no possibility of changing them. Nurses often work night shifts, and it is not so difficult if they are used to or always have the same schedule. Still, they are also assigned vacation periods or holidays, depriving them of being with their families or spending their holidays at home.
PRN nurses, also called per diem, can choose their hours, choose the hospital they wish to work in, and supplement their salaries, earning more than they usually make per hour.
An excellent option for nurses who need to supplement their salaries but have a permanent job is to find PRN jobs so that they always have a permanent position but can choose other shifts when possible to increase their salary. It is a minimal difference between local travel nurses and PRNs, but it is a significant difference. In addition, nurses who work as PRNs are self-contracted workers; they do not receive benefits directly from the institution they work for.
Generally, both PRNs and local travel nurses require a minimum of one year of experience, and the more experience nurses have, the easier it will be for them to find an employer that needs them.
Nursa's team allows nurses looking for PRN jobs and those looking for local travel nursing jobs to find the best jobs near them. With the ability to choose their jobs and gain more experience so that nurses can perform their work most effectively and use their acquired and innate qualities in the quest to improve patients' quality of life.
